DALLAS and CAESAREA, Israel, Feb. 1, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZN) announced today that Mr. Victor Carrillo, a member of the Company's Board of Directors, has been appointed Executive Vice President of the Company. Mr. Carrillo will continue to serve on Zion's Board of Directors; however, in his new position, he will be working on a full time basis on the Company's oil and gas exploration activities.
Mr. Carrillo joined Zion's Board of Directors in September 2010. He is a petroleum geologist and geophysicist, attorney and former county judge. He has over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, specifically in exploration and production and, until December 2010, he was Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission (the agency that oversees the oil and gas, pipeline and surface mining industries in Texas).
Mr. Carrillo earned his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center, a Master of Science degree in geology (with an emphasis in geophysics) from Baylor University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Hardin-Simmons University. Mr. Carrillo also received an honorary doctorate degree from Hardin-Simmons University in May 2006.
Zion's Chief Executive Officer, Richard Rinberg, said today, "We are very pleased to announce Mr. Carrillo's appointment as our Executive Vice President. Victor Carrillo has a wealth of experience in the petroleum industry and together with Bill Ottaviani, Zion's President and Chief Operating Officer, Zion now has a complete skill-set of experienced petroleum professionals, working full-time to implement our multi-well strategy and achieve success with our exploration and operations, as we continue our pursuit to recover hydrocarbons in Israel."
Zion is currently drilling its Ma'anit-Joseph #3 well in Northern Israel and has reached a drilling depth of approximately 16,000 feet (4,876 meters). The Ma'anit-Joseph #3 well has targets in both the Triassic and the Permian geological zones. The primary target is a Permian age formation, expected at a depth of over 19,000 feet (5,790 meters), making the Ma'anit-Joseph #3 well one of the deepest wells ever drilled onshore Israel.
For updates on the drilling activity, please visit Zion's website www.zionoil.com.
Zion's common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "ZN" and Zion's warrants trade under the symbols "ZNWAW" and "ZNWAZ".
Zion Oil & Gas, a Delaware corporation, explores for oil and gas in Israel in areas located on-shore between Haifa and Tel Aviv. It currently holds two petroleum exploration licenses, the Joseph and the Asher-Menashe Licenses, between Netanya, in the south, and Haifa, in the north, covering a total of approximately 162,000 acres and the Issachar-Zebulun Permit Area, adjacent to and to the east of Zion's Asher-Menashe license area, covering approximately 165,000 acres. Zion's total petroleum exploration rights area is approximately 327,000 acres.
The Zion Oil & Gas, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6850
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: Statements in this communication that are not historical fact, including statements regarding Zion's planned operations, geophysical and geological data and interpretation, anticipated attributes of geological strata being drilled, drilling efforts and locations, the presence or recoverability of hydrocarbons, timing and potential results thereof and plans contingent thereon are forward-looking statements as defined in the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors, many of which are described in Zion's periodic reports filed with the SEC and are beyond Zion's control. These risks could cause Zion's actual performance to differ materially from the results predicted by these forward-looking statements. Zion can give no assurance that the expectations reflected in these statements will prove to be correct and assumes no responsibility to update these statements.
Zion's homepage may be found at: www.zionoil.com